aethos consulting group
CEO Pay in Hospitality 2024
AETHOS | September 3, 2024
With the pandemic largely in the rearview mirror, the last twelve months have been about interest rates, less transactions, and wild presidential election cycles worldwide. The hotel industry will be impacted in significant ways as these issues unfold. On the other hand, operational fundamentals have been strong, contributing to CEO pay marching upward. Average CEO pay in the industry rose to USD $9.8M, from the previous year’s $9.5M. Most of this increase came in the form of short-term incentive pay, making the correlation between stronger operating fundamentals and CEO pay. Interestingly, “other compensation” also increased indicat...
Mobile Technologies to Drive Operational Focus and ROI
James Houran | January 28, 2022
By James Houran, Thomas Mielke Odds are that your organization has relied on – or presently uses – two traditional business tools: (a) Psychometric Assessments for hiring, training, and development with mission-critical roles, and (b) Annual Team Member Surveys to monitor the engagement of organizational talent and the effectiveness of its leadership. However, many organizations do not suitably link these two approaches in a way that promotes operational excellence. This article therefore reviews the aims of these tools and suggests a simple step-by-step implementation that produces a crafty self-reinforcing loop of ongoing calibration...
Hospitality’s ‘Hot Seat’ Leadership Series: COOs – A Tale of Two Fortunes
Andrew Hazelton | February 18, 2021
By Andrew Hazelton, Thomas Mielke Part II In our roles as organizational advisers to the hospitality industry on all HR-, talent- and recruitment-related aspects, we are frequently being asked: “What can we [or I] do differently to stay ahead of the curve?”, often followed by, “What profiles, backgrounds and leadership skills are currently most sought after by the market?”. This natural curiosity about the ‘hot functions’ is keeping both organizational leadership teams as well as individual executives preoccupied. How can one best reshuffle or complement one’s existing leadership team? Are there specific experiences or ...
Hospitality’s ‘Hot Seat’ Leadership Series: Trends in Key Functions – Part 1
Andrew Hazelton | February 1, 2021
Andrew Hazelton, Thomas Mielke We are frequently asked by leaders in our industry what roles are ‘hot’ and where are we seeing movement? That curiosity is reflective of our highly competitive sector, one where individuals are eager to further their professional development but also of an industry where scarcity of talent remains an issue – and the pandemic, perhaps counter-intuitively, will probably exaggerate this even further. Of course, one cannot deny that, at present, there is a larger than usual talent pool for employees to pick and choose from. However, the pandemic has also caused some considerable ‘talent haemorrhaging’,...
Saying Goodbye to 2020 With Gratitude
Matt Peterson | January 8, 2021
By Matt Peterson This past year has been a tough one; a year which was, for many, filled with suffering and loss and I for one, alongside most others, could not wait for 2021 to commence. In reflecting on the last 12 months, I have consciously decided to adopt a different mentality for what lies ahead. I recently came across a quote from the theologian Paul Tillich which read “suffering introduces you to yourself and reminds you that you are not the person you thought you were.” It was followed by the comment, “suffering teaches us gratitude.” Wow. So, in retrospective, I choose to reflect on 2020 with gratitude. I am grateful f...
Do Not Let Covid Infect Your Brand
Keith Kefgen | July 1, 2020
By Keith Kefgen The first thing that came to mind when Marriott International furloughed two-thirds of its corporate and property staff was – Is this going to severely impact the Marriott brand and the relationship with their most important asset: PEOPLE. Many blue-chip companies in hospitality, gaming and travel followed suit. These same companies have spent untold millions over the past decade building both a customer and an employment brand. Would their reputation be severely impacted in ninety days? I sought the expertise of my friend Anshuma Lal, founder of branding agency Human Made NY, to weigh in on the issue. Here is what she ha...
To Lead in Times of Crisis, One Must Be Equal Parts Realist, Pragmatist and Optimist
Keith Kefgen | April 1, 2020
By: Keith Kefgen As an evaluator of leadership capability, I have been asked what it takes to lead in a time of crisis, such as COVID-19. My answer has been simple, “you must be equal parts realist, pragmatist and optimist. This mixture of archetypes is essential in dealing with the fast moving and unknown outcomes of a crisis. Realist. a person who accepts a situation as it is and is prepared to deal with it accordingly. To face a situation that is as complex as COVID, fact finding is critical. Like a complex puzzle, getting started in the known areas is a good start (start in the corners). Ask for help in areas that are unknown a...
AETHOS Shares Assessment of Hotel CEO Pay and Performance in 2019 / Keith Kefgen
AETHOS Consulting Group | February 5, 2020
A year passes with the hotel industry having solid but unspectacular performance. That is probably a good thing in comparison to what many prognosticators predicted. It appears that strategy and execution were the best predictors of performance. Companies that executed poorly got penalized, just look at Red Lion. Greg Mount was one of the top performing CEOs in 2018 but 2019 was not so kind. In contrast, RMR and Ashford has changes in strategy that had legs. We predict that 2020 will be another “down in the trenches” year as investors watch the economy and the presidential election very carefully. What we have found over the twenty-plu...
